Many fantasy stories and worlds call their main sapient humanoid species "races" rather than species. In most such worlds, these races are related, typically having evolved from one root species (most often either elves or humans) by magical or divine influence. The usage of the term in this context was popularized by J. R. R. Tolkien and was further adapted and spread by the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Nowadays, many imaginary universes use the terms "race" and "species" interchangeably. For other definitions of fantasy, see fantasy (psychology). ... A fantasy world is a type of fictional universe in which magic or other similar powers work. ... Sentience is the capacity for basic consciousness -- the ability to feel or perceive, not necessarily including the faculty of self-awareness. ... The term humanoid refers to any being whose body structure resembles that of a human. ... In biology, a species is, loosely speaking, a group of related organisms that share a more or less distinctive form and are capable of interbreeding. ... The ancient symbol of the pentagram is often used as a symbol for magic. ... The term God (capitalized in English language as a proper noun) is often used to refer to a Supreme Being. ... J. R. R. Tolkien in 1972, in his study at Merton Street (from by H. Carpenter) John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (January 3, 1892 – September 2, 1973) is the author of The Hobbit and its sequel The Lord of the Rings. ... The original Dungeons & Dragons set Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) published by Gary Gygax and David Arneson in January 1974. ... A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game where players assume the roles of fictional characters via role-playing. ... A fictional universe is a cohesive fictional world that serves as the setting or backdrop for one or (more commonly) multiple works of fiction. ...

In role-playing games, "race" typically refers to any species that can be played as a player character. In older editions of Dungeons & Dragons, the primary non-human player races (dwarf, elf, gnome, halfling (originally hobbit) and half-elf) were called "demi-humans". A player character or playable character (PC for short) is a fictional character in a game, that is controlled by the player. ... A dwarf is a short humanoid creature in Norse mythology, fairy tales, fantasy fiction and role-playing games. ... Galadriel, played by Cate Blanchett, is an elvish woman from the Lord of the Rings, whose image is a fitting illustration of the concept of elf in Norse mythology, Scandinavian folklore, early English folklore and modern fantasy An elf is a mythical creature of Germanic mythology which survived in northern... Lawn gnome A gnome is a mythical creature characterized by its small stature and subterranean lifestyle. ... Halfling is another name for J. R. R. Tolkiens hobbit and is a fictional race sometimes found in fantasy novels and games. ... Hobbits are a race from J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth universe which first appears in the book The Hobbit. ... In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Half-elven (Elvish singular Peredhel, plural Peredhil), are the children of the union of Elves and Men. ...

See list of species in fantasy fiction for a listing of fictional fantastic races and species. Fantasy fiction tends to draw upon a common set of creatures that are easily recognizable to fans of the fantastic genre and have some pre-determined traits. ...

On the race vs. species issue, on might note that the most commonly used definition of a species is that creatures of the same species are capable of interbreeding, creatures of different species are not. But fantasy litterature (from Tolkien till today) is full of half-breeds between races, of which the half-elf (human/elf hybrid) is probably the most common. On this grounds, one might argue that the two terms are not interchangeable at all, but that the races of elves and humans should be considered subraces of the same species. In biology, a species is, loosely speaking, a group of related organisms that share a more or less distinctive form and are capable of interbreeding. ... In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Half-elven (Elvish singular Peredhel, plural Peredhil), are the children of the union of Elves and Men. ...

See also

• Character class
• Legendary creature
• List of character classes
• List of species in folklore and mythology
• List of species in fantasy fiction
• Monster